joyless way of doing his duty to his little niece, he certainly
did see how good and sweet her David was. She reminded herself of
this to check her offense at his snub about Mrs. Maitland; and
all the while the good, sweet David was plotting behind the green
tub of the palm-tree in the conservatory. But when Mr. Ferguson
called to Elizabeth to come home with him, and then bent over and
fussed about the buttons on her jacket, and said, anxiously, "Are
you warm enough, Pussy?" Mrs. Richie said to herself: "He
_is_ good! It's only his manners that are bad."

Robert Ferguson went out into the brown November dusk with his
little girl clinging to his hand, for so he understood his duty
to his niece; and on their own doorstep Elizabeth asked a
question:

"Uncle, if you get married, do you have to stay married?"

He looked down at her with a start. "_What?_" he said.

"If you don't like being married, do you have to stay?"

"Don't ask foolish questions!" he said; "of course you have to."

Elizabeth sighed. As for her uncle, he was disturbed to the point
of irritation. He dropped her hand with a gesture almost of
disgust, and the lines in his forehead deepened into painful
folds. After supper he called Elizabeth's governess into the
library, and shut the door.

"Miss White," he said, knocking his glasses off, "Elizabeth is